don't mind those jokers,,sporterised lee enfield Lithgow is "the only" Aussie rifle ,made here to exacting standards and we might as well get straight into caliber .243 is the Aussiest of all Aussie rifle caliber's ,,called the "Pope" as it has sent more animals to Heaven than any other caliber

Lithgow certainly is a staple when it comes to Aussie firearms. The slazenger marketed 22’s were in every farmers broom closet back in the day. They put food on the table, busted bunnies during the plagues and thousands of kids learnt the basics with one.Sporterised lee Enfields were just as popular too given they were plentiful post war and easily modified to suit a civilian market.Lithgow saw this and modified their own to 22hornet and 410ga also marketed by slazenger.Many offshore brands have found a place here too like Brno, Winchester and Ruger and some have become as Aussie as the Japanese built lancruiser but I think my vote would have to go to the Lithgow .22’s as the caliber itself has also been a must have for pretty much everyone.

When I first started shootin about 33 years ago at 16, the standard rifle everyone had a version of, was a sporterised Lee Enfield. Due to availability and cost, the amount of 303 wildcat chamberings would’ve rivaled what 308’s are today . The 222 rimmed martini was another thing unique to Australia. Lithgow 22’s were Australian, but everyone wanted a Brno, about then, people really started embracing and building Mauser customs, the Swede 6.5’s shot rings around lots of stuff, but there wasn’t a lot of ammo around and it wasn’t cheap. 222’s and 243’s were the caliber to have as I remember. Lever 94 Winchester had been a constant thing if you could get one. That’s when I was young, there’s so much choice in rifles now it’s mind boggling. Powder and projectiles as well. THE Aussie rifle I think at this point in time is the Tikka. I still love Winchester model 70’s but